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Endogenous estradiol may affect the natural course of schizophrenia, suggesting a therapeutic role for this hormone. To replicate a previous study, investigators conducted an 8-week, placebo-controlled trial of a 200-µg estradiol patch in 200 nonmenopausal women in Moldova (median age, 38) already taking antipsychotic drugs for schizophrenia.
Across the entire study group, estradiol was significantly more effective than placebo for improving positive symptoms (the primary outcome) although the effect size was small. Estradiol was also significantly more effective for secondary outcome measures (e.g., total schizophrenia symptom score, clinical impression of severity). Further analysis revealed that estrogen appeared to be effective only in p…